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Bulletins

Journalism Major: Public Relations Concentration, B.A.; B.A.A.; B.S.

B.A. degree, B.A.A. degree, or B.S. degree 

A Journalism major requires 42 hours of journalism coursework.

The Journalism Department requires that ALL graduating seniors take an exit exam prior to graduation as part of the department’s assessment efforts.

Admission Requirements, Retention & Termination Standards

Students majoring in journalism (public relations concentration) must meet the criteria established by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. That means that they must take 72 semester credit hours of their degree work outside of the major. Students may take a maximum of 52 hours under the JRN designator. They must take liberal arts and sciences courses in compliance with CMU’s University Program requirements, listed under the University Program for the B.A., B.A.A., or B.S. degree. A grade of C or better is required in each course counted toward the major and an overall grade point average of 2.5 for all journalism courses counted toward the major.

The last 18 hours of journalism course work leading to a Photo-journalism major should be taken within the Journalism Department of CMU. No more than 3 credits of journalism internship can be applied toward the major.

Each student must consult with a Department of Journalism faculty advisor before registering for courses each semester to ensure orderly progress toward meeting these requirements.

Program Requirements

Required Courses I (3 hours)

Select one of the following:

JRN 101Media and Society

3(3-0)

JRN 102Introduction to Journalism

3(3-0)

Required Courses II (33 hours)

JRN 202WIWriting for the Mass Media

3(3-0)

JRN 203QRInformation Gathering for the Mass Media

3(3-0)

JRN 220Basic Media Photography

3(3-0)

JRN 302Introduction to Graphics and Visual Communication

3(3-0)

JRN 353Foundations of Strategic Public Relations

3(3-0)

JRN 369Advertising and Public Relations Research

3(3-0)

JRN 404Law of Mass Communication

3(3-0)

JRN 450WIPublic Relations Writing

3(3-0)

JRN 551WICase Studies in Public Relations

3(3-0)

JRN 556Public Relations Seminar

3(3-0)

JRN 559Public Relations Internship

1-4(Spec)

Required Courses III (3 hours)

Select one of the following:

JRN 372The Asian Media and Cross-cultural Mass Communication

3(3-0)

JRN 380Racial and Cultural Diversity: Mass Media's Role

3(3-0)

Required Courses IV (3 hours)

Select one of the following:

JRN 340Introduction to Digital Journalism

3(3-0)

JRN 402Advanced Media Graphics and Visual Communication

3(3-0)

Total: 42 semester hours